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Philosophy is an excellent major for students who intend to go to law school, and
the department offers both a wide range of courses for pre-law students and two resident
prelaw advisors, Professor William Shaw and Professor Anand Vaidya.

Why should a Pre-Law student major in philosophy?

Average LSAT scores of the eleven most popular pre-law majors

Average LSAT scores of the eleven most popular pre-law majors

Major

LSAT Score

Compared to average

Popularity of major

Number of students

Philosophy

157.0

+4.7pts

11

1,447

Economics

156.2

+3.9pts

6

2,575

History

154.5

+2.2pts

2

5,107

English

153.5

+1.2pts

3

4,968

Psychology

151.7

-0.6pts

4

3,758

Political Science

151.5

-0.8pts

1

13,229

Accounting

151.5

-0.8pts

7

2,098

Sociology

149.4

-2.9pts

8

1,888

Communications

149.4

-2.9pts

9

1,780

Business Administration

148.2

-4.1pts

10

1,758

Criminal Justice

145.2

-6.9pts

5

3,185

From Clemson University's Philosophy & Pre-Law page

Average LSAT scores of the ten most popular pre-law Arts & Humanities majors

Average LSAT scores of the ten most popular pre-law Arts & Humanities majors

Major

LSAT Score

Compared to average

Popularity of major

Number of students

Philosophy

157.0

+4.7pts

11

1,447

Religion

156.6

+4.3pts

10

200

Literature

154.5

+2.2pts

5

348

Music

155.0

+1.7pts

7

245

French

153.9

+1.6pts

8

224

English

153.5

+1.2pts

1

4,968

Foreign Lanuages

153.3

+1.0pts

9

203

Journalism

151.9

-0.4pts

4

793

Liberal Arts

150.8

-1.5pts

6

320

Spanish

149.1

-3.2pts

3

827

From Clemson University's Philosophy & Pre-Law page

More good reasons why prelaw students should major in philosophy:

From the American Bar Association, Law as a Career:

An undergraduate should be aware that there is no particular course of study that
is required or preferred by law schools. Accordingly, students from a wide variety
of majors (e.g., philosophy, physics, political science, engineering, and business)
are admitted to law schools each year. There is no true prelaw curriculum. Generally,
a broad-based education that is rigorous and that stresses analytical and verbal communication
skills will be useful.

From theLaw School Admission Council's Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools:

While no single curricular path is the ideal preparation for law school, you should
choose courses that sharpen analytical reasoning and writing skills. Law schools prefer
students who can think, read, and write well, and who have some understanding of what
shapes human experience.

From Richard Posner (federal appellate judge and former law professor), Overcoming
Law. (Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 1995):

The methods of analytic philosophy and of legal reasoning--the making of careful distinctions
and definitions, the determination of logical consistency through the construction
and examination of hypothetical cases, the bringing of buried assumptions to the surface,
the breaking up of a problem into manageable components, the meticulous exploration
of the implications of an opponent's arguments--are mainly the same. (p. 9)

From the American Philosophical Association:

Intermediate to advanced courses in logic and in the general area of ethics, for instance
political or social philosophy, philosophy of law, medical ethics, and business ethics,
are very useful. Epistemology, which examines standards of evidence, philosophy of
mind, which bears on moral and legal responsibility, and philosophy of language, may
also be of special benefit. Philosophy of science is particularly valuable for those
intending to practice in the technological or scientific sectors.

Many philosophers and students of philosophy go to law school, and there are now many
successful philosopher-lawyers. On the basis of information from law school faculty,
from philosophers who have kept track of their students who have gone into the law,
and from independent studies, it is clear that philosophical training tends to be
of great value both in law school and in legal practice. Further, philosophers tend
to do very well on the LSA T examination. A philosopher at a distinguished university
noted that even their average graduate students in philosophy who transferred to law
school usually did outstanding work as law students...The law is not only a career
that interests many philosophers and philosophy students; it is also a field for which
philosophical training is generally excellent preparation.